This book explores the dynamics of comic mockery and satire in Greek and Latin poetry, and argues that poets working in such genres composed their “attacks” on targets, and constructed their ...
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This book explores the dynamics of comic mockery and satire in Greek and Latin poetry, and argues that poets working in such genres composed their “attacks” on targets, and constructed their relationships with audiences, in accordance with a set of common poetic principles, protocols, and tropes. It encourages a synoptic, synchronic view of such poetry, from archaic iambus through Roman satire, and argues that only when we appreciate how an abstracted “poetics of mockery” governs individual poets can we fully understand how such poetry functioned diachronically in its own historical moment. The book examines in particular the strategies deployed by satirical poets to enlist the sympathies of a putative audience and convince them of the legitimacy of their personal attacks. It discusses the tension deliberately created by such poets between self-righteous didactic claims and a persistent desire to undermine them, and concludes that such poetry was felt by ancient audiences to achieve its greatest success as comedy precisely when they were left unable to ascribe to the satirist any consistent moral position. Several early chapters look to Greek myth for paradigms of comic mockery, and argue that these myths can illuminate the ways in which ancient audiences conceptualized specifically poeticized forms of satire. Poets addressed in this part of the book include Archilochus, Hipponax, Horace, Homer, Aristophanes, and Theocritus. Two chapters follow which address the satirical poetics of Callimachus and Juvenal, and a final chapter on the question of how ancient audiences responded the inherently controversial elements of such poetry.Less

Making Mockery : The Poetics of Ancient Satire

Ralph Rosen

Published in print: 2007-05-01

This book explores the dynamics of comic mockery and satire in Greek and Latin poetry, and argues that poets working in such genres composed their “attacks” on targets, and constructed their relationships with audiences, in accordance with a set of common poetic principles, protocols, and tropes. It encourages a synoptic, synchronic view of such poetry, from archaic iambus through Roman satire, and argues that only when we appreciate how an abstracted “poetics of mockery” governs individual poets can we fully understand how such poetry functioned diachronically in its own historical moment. The book examines in particular the strategies deployed by satirical poets to enlist the sympathies of a putative audience and convince them of the legitimacy of their personal attacks. It discusses the tension deliberately created by such poets between self-righteous didactic claims and a persistent desire to undermine them, and concludes that such poetry was felt by ancient audiences to achieve its greatest success as comedy precisely when they were left unable to ascribe to the satirist any consistent moral position. Several early chapters look to Greek myth for paradigms of comic mockery, and argue that these myths can illuminate the ways in which ancient audiences conceptualized specifically poeticized forms of satire. Poets addressed in this part of the book include Archilochus, Hipponax, Horace, Homer, Aristophanes, and Theocritus. Two chapters follow which address the satirical poetics of Callimachus and Juvenal, and a final chapter on the question of how ancient audiences responded the inherently controversial elements of such poetry.

The intensely human culture of newly literate Ionia spread into every field of intellectual endeavor. Though it was obviously anti-religious, serious opposition to it took nearly a century to ...
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The intensely human culture of newly literate Ionia spread into every field of intellectual endeavor. Though it was obviously anti-religious, serious opposition to it took nearly a century to develop. Ionian thought came to Athens later than to Italy. It was introduced by Anaxagoras of Clazomenae and by members of a new “profession,” the Sophists –itinerant lecturers and tutors. The most famous of these was Protagoras, the first Relativist and explicit agnostic. Socrates, a native Athenian, started out as a friend of the scientific side of Pythagoreanism. As such he was caricatured by the comic poet Aristophanes; and as such he was condemned and put to death for “impiety.” But by that time he had undergone a conversion from science to the moral and religious interests also associated with the Brotherhood.Less

Athens I

Wallace Matson

Published in print: 2011-12-09

The intensely human culture of newly literate Ionia spread into every field of intellectual endeavor. Though it was obviously anti-religious, serious opposition to it took nearly a century to develop. Ionian thought came to Athens later than to Italy. It was introduced by Anaxagoras of Clazomenae and by members of a new “profession,” the Sophists –itinerant lecturers and tutors. The most famous of these was Protagoras, the first Relativist and explicit agnostic. Socrates, a native Athenian, started out as a friend of the scientific side of Pythagoreanism. As such he was caricatured by the comic poet Aristophanes; and as such he was condemned and put to death for “impiety.” But by that time he had undergone a conversion from science to the moral and religious interests also associated with the Brotherhood.

This chapter presents a synthesis of discussions in the preceding chapters. The most important conclusion from studying the six Aristophanic case studies is that it is feasible to operate with ...
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This chapter presents a synthesis of discussions in the preceding chapters. The most important conclusion from studying the six Aristophanic case studies is that it is feasible to operate with categories of variation which are more fine-grained than the well-known ones of ‘foreign dialect’, ‘paratragic style’, or ‘colloquial language’. The universally recognised absence of linguistic continuity in Aristophanes, and the lack of continuous linguistic characterization should not discourage the analysis of discontinuous characterization: first because variation is an interesting topic in its own right, and secondly because linguistic characterization is possible even in a discontinuous mode.Less

Conclusion

ANDREAS WILLI

Published in print: 2007-02-01

This chapter presents a synthesis of discussions in the preceding chapters. The most important conclusion from studying the six Aristophanic case studies is that it is feasible to operate with categories of variation which are more fine-grained than the well-known ones of ‘foreign dialect’, ‘paratragic style’, or ‘colloquial language’. The universally recognised absence of linguistic continuity in Aristophanes, and the lack of continuous linguistic characterization should not discourage the analysis of discontinuous characterization: first because variation is an interesting topic in its own right, and secondly because linguistic characterization is possible even in a discontinuous mode.

This chapter discusses different forms of temporal calibration and articulation, as well as the complementary nature of natural time and culturally-determined time. After introducing some ...
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This chapter discusses different forms of temporal calibration and articulation, as well as the complementary nature of natural time and culturally-determined time. After introducing some philosophical problems concerning the nature of time, it examines evidence for the proposition that time as a malleable and constructed concept was familiar within the everyday life of the Greek polis, through the plays of Aristophanes and publicly displayed inscriptions. The connections between time as mapped out on a recurring annual cycle through the calendar and historical time which spans the past of a place are also considered.Less

Introduction

Katherine Clarke

Published in print: 2008-03-20

This chapter discusses different forms of temporal calibration and articulation, as well as the complementary nature of natural time and culturally-determined time. After introducing some philosophical problems concerning the nature of time, it examines evidence for the proposition that time as a malleable and constructed concept was familiar within the everyday life of the Greek polis, through the plays of Aristophanes and publicly displayed inscriptions. The connections between time as mapped out on a recurring annual cycle through the calendar and historical time which spans the past of a place are also considered.

This chapter looks in detail at Robert Browning's poem Aristophanes' Apology (1875) and his transcription, within this, of Euripides' Herakles. Browning applies himself at length to the whole issue ...
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This chapter looks in detail at Robert Browning's poem Aristophanes' Apology (1875) and his transcription, within this, of Euripides' Herakles. Browning applies himself at length to the whole issue of Euripidean reception, both ancient and modern, and, as the coup de grâce in his defence of the playwright, he translates Herakles faithfully and in full. The play is deemed by Browning ‘the consummate Tragedy’ and ‘the perfect piece’ by which to ‘test true godship’. The chapter considers Browning's version of Herakles in relation to his very different translations of Alkestis and Agamemnon, and in terms of the Victorian translation debate.Less

The Browning version: Aristophanes' Apology and ‘the perfect piece’

Kathleen Riley

Published in print: 2008-04-24

This chapter looks in detail at Robert Browning's poem Aristophanes' Apology (1875) and his transcription, within this, of Euripides' Herakles. Browning applies himself at length to the whole issue of Euripidean reception, both ancient and modern, and, as the coup de grâce in his defence of the playwright, he translates Herakles faithfully and in full. The play is deemed by Browning ‘the consummate Tragedy’ and ‘the perfect piece’ by which to ‘test true godship’. The chapter considers Browning's version of Herakles in relation to his very different translations of Alkestis and Agamemnon, and in terms of the Victorian translation debate.

This chapter explores the relationship between Socrates and his predecessors, and gives a significant philosophical role to all the speeches of the dialogue. It argues that Socrates' speech is ...
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This chapter explores the relationship between Socrates and his predecessors, and gives a significant philosophical role to all the speeches of the dialogue. It argues that Socrates' speech is continuous with his predecessors, and completes and resolves some of the issues raised in the previous speeches. In this way, the previous speeches can be compared to Aristotelian endoxa. The contrast between Socrates and his predecessors also exemplifies the contrast between the two sorts of lovers described in the lower and higher mysteries of Socrates' speech. Reading the speeches in light of this contrast provides a further reason to think that the previous speeches are for the sake of our philosophical education, in much the same way as the lower mysteries were taught to Socrates for the sake of the higher. The philosophy of the Symposium, in other words, is extended throughout the dialogue and is not limited to Socrates'speech.Less

Shadow Lovers: The Symposiasts and Socrates

Frisbee C. C. Sheffield

Published in print: 2006-07-20

This chapter explores the relationship between Socrates and his predecessors, and gives a significant philosophical role to all the speeches of the dialogue. It argues that Socrates' speech is continuous with his predecessors, and completes and resolves some of the issues raised in the previous speeches. In this way, the previous speeches can be compared to Aristotelian endoxa. The contrast between Socrates and his predecessors also exemplifies the contrast between the two sorts of lovers described in the lower and higher mysteries of Socrates' speech. Reading the speeches in light of this contrast provides a further reason to think that the previous speeches are for the sake of our philosophical education, in much the same way as the lower mysteries were taught to Socrates for the sake of the higher. The philosophy of the Symposium, in other words, is extended throughout the dialogue and is not limited to Socrates'speech.

A fresh interpretation of ‘όξύς’ and ‘βαρύς’ underpins a new theory of the ancient Greek accent, applying W. Sidney Allen’s observation that there must have been in Greek a down-glide in pitch, ...
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A fresh interpretation of ‘όξύς’ and ‘βαρύς’ underpins a new theory of the ancient Greek accent, applying W. Sidney Allen’s observation that there must have been in Greek a down-glide in pitch, cognate with the Vedic svarita, in addition to the rise whose vowel mora is marked by the received written system of signs devised by Aristophanes of Byzantium. The diachronic analysis is confirmed by Allen’s separate discovery of a pattern of stress in Greek, whose rules predict the same places of accentual prominence as the new theory; by modern synchronic descriptions of the Greek tonal phenomena; and by the fact that the contextual dominance of the svarita proposed for Greek also helps formulate a law that corresponds to the received rules for Latin prosody. Various loci antiqui, including disputed passages from Plato’s Timaeus, are seen in some cases to be inconsistent with received interpretations, but always consistent with the new theory.Less

The Voice of the Dancer: A New Theory of the Greek Accent

A. P. David

Published in print: 2006-09-28

A fresh interpretation of ‘όξύς’ and ‘βαρύς’ underpins a new theory of the ancient Greek accent, applying W. Sidney Allen’s observation that there must have been in Greek a down-glide in pitch, cognate with the Vedic svarita, in addition to the rise whose vowel mora is marked by the received written system of signs devised by Aristophanes of Byzantium. The diachronic analysis is confirmed by Allen’s separate discovery of a pattern of stress in Greek, whose rules predict the same places of accentual prominence as the new theory; by modern synchronic descriptions of the Greek tonal phenomena; and by the fact that the contextual dominance of the svarita proposed for Greek also helps formulate a law that corresponds to the received rules for Latin prosody. Various loci antiqui, including disputed passages from Plato’s Timaeus, are seen in some cases to be inconsistent with received interpretations, but always consistent with the new theory.

The creation of a white-collar class in America brought with it changes in demographic patterns, particularly where romance was concerned. No longer largely economic, marriage became increasingly ...
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The creation of a white-collar class in America brought with it changes in demographic patterns, particularly where romance was concerned. No longer largely economic, marriage became increasingly seen as an emotional and romantic fulfillment of human needs. Spiritualists agreed that love was of utmost importance but recognized that many unhappy marriages resulted in women and children caught in impossible situations. Spiritualists advocated an eternal love between soul mates but fought for reform of marriage and divorce law at the same time. True love was understood using Aristophanes’ portrayal of the primal androgynous unit from Plato’s Symposium—love gathered the halves of bodies as well as souls. At the fringes of the movement were sex radicals and free-love adherents like Victoria Woodhull who called for dramatic legal reform in both marriage and eugenics.Less

Marriage

Cathy Gutierrez

Published in print: 2009-11-01

The creation of a white-collar class in America brought with it changes in demographic patterns, particularly where romance was concerned. No longer largely economic, marriage became increasingly seen as an emotional and romantic fulfillment of human needs. Spiritualists agreed that love was of utmost importance but recognized that many unhappy marriages resulted in women and children caught in impossible situations. Spiritualists advocated an eternal love between soul mates but fought for reform of marriage and divorce law at the same time. True love was understood using Aristophanes’ portrayal of the primal androgynous unit from Plato’s Symposium—love gathered the halves of bodies as well as souls. At the fringes of the movement were sex radicals and free-love adherents like Victoria Woodhull who called for dramatic legal reform in both marriage and eugenics.

This chapter is concerned with how satiric genres of poetry distinguished “blamers” from targets, and how poets enlisted the sympathies of their audiences. The main focus is on the Thersites of ...
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This chapter is concerned with how satiric genres of poetry distinguished “blamers” from targets, and how poets enlisted the sympathies of their audiences. The main focus is on the Thersites of Homer, Iliad 2 who is often regarded as a kind of “proto-satirist”. This chapter, however, urges a more nuanced approach to this formulation: by comparing the Iliadic portrait of Thersites (where Thersites is portrayed as having been justifiably punished) to the stories about his death at the hands of Achilles (a patently unjust act) found in other sources, it argues that the Iliadic Thersites is conceptualized by Homer more as a “target” than an actual satirist. Comparanda discussed in this chapter include Aristophanes' Knights and Aesopic fable.Less

Where the Blame Lies : The Question of Thersites

Ralph M. Rosen

Published in print: 2007-05-01

This chapter is concerned with how satiric genres of poetry distinguished “blamers” from targets, and how poets enlisted the sympathies of their audiences. The main focus is on the Thersites of Homer, Iliad 2 who is often regarded as a kind of “proto-satirist”. This chapter, however, urges a more nuanced approach to this formulation: by comparing the Iliadic portrait of Thersites (where Thersites is portrayed as having been justifiably punished) to the stories about his death at the hands of Achilles (a patently unjust act) found in other sources, it argues that the Iliadic Thersites is conceptualized by Homer more as a “target” than an actual satirist. Comparanda discussed in this chapter include Aristophanes' Knights and Aesopic fable.

This chapter establishes the range of evaluative strategies found in Greek comedy and then concentrates on an explicit lexical evaluation in comedy. It argues that it would be easy to understand why ...
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This chapter establishes the range of evaluative strategies found in Greek comedy and then concentrates on an explicit lexical evaluation in comedy. It argues that it would be easy to understand why the language of Aristophanes abstains from the use of the ‘basic’ obscene metaphor in reproaching stupidity and unpleasantness if it also abstained from (1) the metaphorical use of ‘deviant’ obscenity and (2) the use of both basic and deviant obscene words in their literal meanings. However, those conditions are not fulfilled, leaving something that resembles an ecological niche inexplicably unoccupied.Less

Some Evaluative Terms in Aristophanes

Kenneth Dover

Published in print: 2002-10-03

This chapter establishes the range of evaluative strategies found in Greek comedy and then concentrates on an explicit lexical evaluation in comedy. It argues that it would be easy to understand why the language of Aristophanes abstains from the use of the ‘basic’ obscene metaphor in reproaching stupidity and unpleasantness if it also abstained from (1) the metaphorical use of ‘deviant’ obscenity and (2) the use of both basic and deviant obscene words in their literal meanings. However, those conditions are not fulfilled, leaving something that resembles an ecological niche inexplicably unoccupied.